Groundhog Day has come back around (as Groundhog Day always does). If you (and Punxsutawney Phil) saw shadows, we’re all looking at six more weeks of winter. We did. He did. Hang onto your coats.
Weather aside, Groundhog Day always reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day, and the movie reminds me of a business-coaching application.
Some businesspeople live their lives like Bill Murray’s character, Phil Connors, in the 1993 classic movie. If you don’t quite remember it, Phil is an obnoxious, sarcastic TV weather reporter who is sent by his station to cover the annual Groundhog Day ceremonies in Punxsutawney, PA. Murray’s character hates covering this event.
Connors goes to bed and wakes up the next morning only to find that it’s still Groundhog Day. This happens over and over again. Not until he changes his bad attitude and redirects his focus from self-absorption to helping others does the day ever change. He discovers that real change starts with oneself. That’s a fact that never changes.
While the movie is cute and entertaining, we all can learn a few serious and lasting lessons from the storyline. Like Phil, you are in charge of your own future—good or bad.
First, if you are arrogant, self-absorbed (and “full of yourself” as my momma used to say), then people are not drawn to you. They don’t want to work with you, help you or give you the benefit of any doubt. The exact opposite also is true. If you are good at heart, authentic and compassionate, people will gravitate toward you and want to be with you. They’ll want to be part of what you do—in and out of your office.
Second, change begins with you. If you want a better environment, job, home life, etc., whatever needs to change to make that happen needs to start with you.
Now, let me add a little something here. After a year filled with “Blursdays” (when, during this ongoing pandemic, one day tends to feel just like the one before and it’s hard to keep track of the days of the week), 2021 is looking much the same. Some (or maybe a lot) of what’s happening in your industry is out of your control.
In a Groundhog Day-like scenario, many business leaders have experienced recurring challenges or opportunities each and every day. In some industries like hospitality, the challenges probably have felt like a tsunami—overwhelming and all-consuming. For people in other industries like construction, including home building, remodeling, etc., it was days and days of new opportunities.
In either case, business leaders had to be self-aware and self-regulate in response. Good leaders led in whatever weather they were facing.
I think it’s important to remember, unlike in the movie Groundhog Day, we only get one chance to make each day a positive, productive and joyful experience.
We all get the same number of hours in every day. We can focus on what’s important, on what helps us succeed, or we can let “the swarm” consume our precious hours, making us feel busy while we’re not really productive at all.
Think of yourself as the producer, director and actor in your own life’s movie. I challenge you to live your life to the very fullest; make the changes you need to make; star in a personal film full of joy, productivity, good thoughts and fond memories. Yes, even now, when the world is still full of uncertainty.
Do that, and you’ll do what you do better.
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